Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Trims Stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd lessened its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 120,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,633 shares during the period. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $9,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of BRO stock opened at $59.66 on Wednesday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.81 and a 12-month high of $111.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $60.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.63.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.94% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.22%.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $57.10 per share, with a total value of $114,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 47,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,719,159.10. The trade was a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 13.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BRO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.44.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc (NYSE: BRO) is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.